[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8522]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               BRAND USA

  (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support policies that 
will grow our economy.
  The travel industry employs over 1 million Floridians. Recently, 
tourism to Florida has resulted in more than $70 billion of revenue, 
and it has generated nearly $900 billion nationally.
  I recently introduced the Travel Promotion, Enhancement and 
Modernization Act, which would extend the activities of Brand USA, a 
public-private partnership that markets the U.S. as a tourism 
destination. This will continue to promote job growth in Florida.
  Florida's trend, however, is not reflected nationwide, unfortunately. 
Sadly, over 800,000 Americans gave up looking for work in April alone. 
This should not be the new normal.
  The House has passed over 40 jobs-related bills that will promote 
private sector growth. The Brand USA reauthorization is another jobs 
bill that will get America working again. I urge support to grow our 
economy.

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